The present invention provides innovative solutions to common problems associated with the use of a catheter, such as, for a non-limiting example, a urinary catheter, by providing a novel catheter, a novel kit and/or system including said catheter and a novel method employing the use of said catheter, kit and/or system. The present invention can replace the current standard practices when a catheter is indicated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 15-25% of all hospitalized patients will receive a urinary catheter during their stay. Urinary catheters are used in a variety of ways including, but not limited to, drainage of fluids related to the bladder, bladder wall punctures, bladder spasms, and urethral wall atony and/or atrophy. Problems associated with urinary catheter use include tissue trauma upon insertion, urinary tract infection, bladder spasm, bladder wall puncture, urethral erosion, genitourinary pain, and catheter obstruction. Catheters can also be attributed to complications such as prostatitis, epididymitis, and orchitis in males, and cystitis, pyelonephritis, gram-negative bacteremia, endocarditis, vertebral osteomyelitis, septic arthritis, endophthalmitis, and meningitis in all patients. Centers for Disease Control. (2015). Urinary Tract Infection (Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection [CAUTI] and Non-Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection [UTI]) and Other Urinary System Infection [USI]) Events http://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/pdfs/pscManual/7pscCAUTIcurrent.pdf. Among all hospital-acquired infections, catheter-associated urinary tract infections (“CAUTI”) compose 40% of all of these nosocomial infections. Hooton, T., Bradley, S., Cardenas, D., Colgan, R., Geerlings, S., Rice, J. (2009). Diagnosis, Prevention, and Treatment of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infection in Adults: 2009 International Clinical Practice Guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/50/5/625.full.pdf+html. Current government and industry guidelines now recommend catheterizing patients with specific clinical indications and discontinuing use as quickly as possible due to chance of CAUTI being an accumulating 3-10% per day. Members of the Jury of Consensus Conference on nosocomial urinary tract infections (NUTI) in adult patients. (2003). Nosocomial urinary tract infections (NUTI) in adult patients: Consensus conference 2002, short text http://www.infectiologie.com/site/medias/english/noso-uti2002.pdf.
For many years, companies in the catheter industry have responded to the CAUTI with ineffective solutions which at times have compounded the CAUTI problem. For example, some companies have experimented with applying antimicrobial coatings to their catheters to prevent the formation of biofilms on the catheter surfaces which lead to infection. Studies have shown that antimicrobial-coated and silver-coated catheters have had little effect on infection rates and in some cases, have even lead to the creation of drug-resistant bacterial infection due to the nature of rapid bacterial division and adaptation. For high-risk patients, generally the elderly, a UTI can greatly increase the costs of the hospital stay and can result in subsequent complications and sometimes even death. Some physicians now recommend a suprapubic catheter (a catheter surgically placed from the abdominal wall into the bladder) for urinary drainage for high-risk patients due to the decreased chances of infection and subsequent complications. Another alternative to urethral catheterization includes external condom catheters in males for longer durations.
Thus, there is a need for the development of a novel catheter which will be less susceptible to the growth of biofilms on catheter surfaces thereby reducing the risk of CAUTIs and other infections.